Day 13 - Another big gun bites the dust…

Pardon the pun.

Luis Suarez

Lets get the obvious out there, what the???

Ok now let's think about it. He obviously has an issue. I don't want to be the unqualified one who diagnoses him, but ADHD or something. No joke,  we need to look at it from this point of view because it is not normal. He does need help.

And it is a better way to look at the issue then from a racist point of view. I've seen  'dirty south american' mentioned and that is just wrong. Equally disappointing, was seeing John Aloisi say something quite similar on National TV. Moving on to the football…

What a difference a week in football makes.

One week we are marvelling at the Spanish Squad. The next they are packing..

One week ago I marvelled at the ingenious cult figure of Andrea Pirlo. Day 3 - Magical

The next, he has played his last international. I am honestly devastated he is out of the Cup. And the Azzurri. Cesare Prandelli is a marvellous coach, with great value and respect for the game. It would have been nice to see them go further.

But this World Cup is so unpredictable, they all are really. Go back through all the World Cup semi-finalists, there is almost always at least one team there that you would not have been fancied to get to the last four before it all kicked off.

Spain, England, Italy, and almost certainly Portugal, gone, 1st round. Wow.

The great part is that Costa Rica deserve nothing less. They have been a joy to watch.

Another Joy to watch, James Rodriguez - Colombian pronunciation - Haaaaiimmmehhh. :-/

What a player. I think I'm repeating myself again, but who cares. A classic South American enganche, mixed with a bit of a modern attacking midfielder. Here in Australia there is a lot of talk about 'producing' this type of player.

You cannot 'produce' them. As a coach you need to just 'allow' them to develop. Teach them about the game around them. That is all, do not impose restrictions. Enhance, not restrict their ability.

Back to the Cup. I am quite sad we are over half way, but the best is about to come.

One thing to remember.

Luck, and by that I mean good and bad, bad being dodgy decisions, are part of the game. I have always said that it generally evens itself out. An example is that Italy got some luck along the way in 2006, but today, it went against them.

It is how you react though. Much like life.

It's not what happens to you, it's how you react.

Italy could have defended that corner away, and progressed despite the bite…

But they didn't. The Uruguayan spirit fights on.

A sad arrivederci, grazie Andrea...